Unexpected
by chiahead
Summary: AU New Moon; One of the other Cullen's checks on Bella instead of Alice after the cliff diving incident; Bella OOC - she has slowly realized that the relationship with Edward was not healthy. New relationship will progress slowly, lemons later. MA
1. Chapter 1

**AN - Ok, so we all know I do not own anything related to this story, except the path my New Moon induced brain is taking this story. So my daughter and I saw the movie for the 5****th**** time tonight (I have been ill all week, otherwise that number would most likely be in the double digits). The scene with Carlisle stitching Bella's arm is SCREAMING to have a FF written for it. Dios mio, the chemistry between those two in that scene….**

**Anywhooo…. I will NOT be giving up my other story – There Is Another Someone – but to keep this story in my head would have hurt. **

Prologue-

"Wait, don't. There's a vampire." Jacob spat, looking positively feral.

"H…How do you know?" Victoria, she is here to finish me off. Perfect.

"I can smell it" Jacob answered dully. He started the truck again and went to put it in reverse. I looked with him over his shoulder and noticed a black Mercedes parked on the side of the road.

"That's Carlisle's car!" My heart soared. They were back!? I leapt from the truck, barely aware of Jacob protesting behind me. He thinks this is a trap. I know that one of _them_ is here, back, to see me. My only thoughts concern me making it to the door in one piece and without bloodshed.

Surprisingly, I fly to the front door with no mishaps. My hand is on the door turning the knob when it registers in my Cullen addled consciousness that Jacob is gone. My body half turns toward my truck, catching a glimpse of russet fur on the edge of the forest. My heart fractures as I hesitate, torn between calling after Jake and seeing which one of them is here. I follow the path my heart is screaming for, ignoring the arguments from my head. I turn the knob of the door and step into my house….


	2. Chapter 2

**AN – Still don't own these characters or anything related to Twilight. **

**Here is chapter 1. I am horrible because I SHOULD be writing my freaking Stock Market Report for my class, which is due today by the way! I will cram it later. I just had to get this first chapter out…Wonder if my professor will accept that excuse????**

**PLEASE read and review. It's nice to hear your thoughts, feeds the inner muse and all that! **

**Chapter 1 – Bittersweet **

**Bella POV**

The first thing I noticed was of course that the house was dark, imagine that. I mean was I really expecting that they would have turned a light on? They don't need light to see. The next thing that registered was the cool breath that washed over the back of my neck.

For a split second my heart dropped to my feet and I considered the possibility of Jacob being right. What if this was a set up? What if the person behind me has red eyes? My mind ran through a few other scenarios, before it finally acknowledged the scent of my visitor.

This was a scent I knew well, a scent I last had the pleasure of inhaling on my birthday. It and my reaction to it had plagued my dreams for the last 5 months. It was a scent that both comforted and confused me.

It was the soothing mixture of clean linen and leather.

I didn't even have to turn around to know who was here. Inexplicably my heart rate soared, but I would deal with the confusion of my reaction later. Right now all I wanted to do was turn and fling myself into his arms.

"Carlisle!"

Inexplicably, I caught him off guard, he stumbled a bit as he caught me. He hesitated briefly before wrapping his arms around my waist and crushing me to his chest. The shock effect of his ice cold embrace traveled up and down my spinal column, but I was not 100% sure it could be blamed solely on the temperature.

"Bella? How? I don't…Alice said…" He was stumbling over his words. I had never seen him like this. I leaned back in his arms to look at his face, forgetting I couldn't see it; I hadn't turned the light on yet. I reached over, not daring to break the embrace, and flipped on the light.

"Carlisle, what is wrong? Did something happen? Is everyone ok?" I looked into his eyes to catch the stunned expression on his astoundingly beautiful face. I was surprised at the effect that immediately raced through my body. My already alarmingly erratic heartbeat thundered faster. The butterflies that had mostly lain dormant in my belly for 5 months had miraculously sprung back to life and were presently threatening to cut off my air supply completely. And of course the ever present bane of my existence crept up my throat and lit my cheeks up with an embarrassing flush. Even more embarrassing, I knew that Carlisle was aware of every reaction currently flooding my body, except maybe the butterflies. But with my luck, he could probably hear them.

For a moment, I didn't care about the answer to my questions. Hell, I forgot what I had even asked him, I was focused on his golden eyes and how they seemed to be roaming my face and body. It was almost as if he was checking me out, but that was preposterous right? I mentally shook those thoughts out of my head and tried to focus on what he was saying.

"Bella, we…we thought you were…dead. Alice had a vision of you jumping off a cliff. She saw you hit the water and struggle to try to reach the surface. She saw the struggling stop, you start to drift to the bottom of the water and….and then everything, you, your future, everything went blank. We thought you were dead. How is it possible that I am now holding you?" His arms tightened around me as he uttered his last question.

The last part came out as a whisper so low that I almost did not catch it. But hearing it sent a small flame through my body. But I immediately battled it down; I was obviously losing what was left of my sanity.

He must have felt the tremor run through me because his arms suddenly dropped to his sides, leaving me feeling abruptly bereft.

My arms automatically wrapped themselves around myself in a vain attempt to hold onto the feeling of his arms around me. The feelings of inadequacy, loneliness, and despair began to wage war with the butterflies on the rights to my air supply.

"Bella, did you try to kill yourself tonight?" He asked quietly, his eyes momentarily displaying pain. It was almost as if the thought of me offing myself was hurtful to him.

Ah yes, the bitterness is back. I had come to feel less than positive about the Cullen's over the last few months. When they left me, it was a betrayal of unimaginable proportions. I didn't understand why he was here, what difference did it make to them if I did try to kill myself? They left me, they essentially forfeited their right to care when they left without a word, not even a short "Bye Bella" note.

I had begun to think that I really was their little human pet, as Laurent had suggested. These thoughts had bred resentment, anger and led me to some pretty childish thoughts, I could feel them bubbling now, just barely contained.

I exhaled loudly, allowing a lot of the bitterness and sarcasm to leak into my voice as I replied to his question.

"Kill myself? Please! Its called cliff diving. If Alice has been watching me then she should have seen that I am all about extreme sports now." Throwing myself off a cliff and riding motorcycles to hear the voices qualifies as sports right?

The tone of my voice obviously registered as Carlisle straightened his back. A shadow of something that I did not want to name flashed across his eyes before they narrowed, his head tilted slightly to the side. I could practically see the wheels turning as he tried to figure out how to respond.

"I see."

That's it? I see? Come on, all that vampire wisdom, all those degrees in who knows how many subjects and all he can come up with was _I see_???? You've got to be kidding me.

"Why are you here?" It made no sense to me why he would be here if they thought I was dead. Was it to make sure, to be able to tell _him_ that he needn't worry about running into me one day?

Again, he must have picked up on the edge to my voice because his eyes narrowed again.

"Charlie. I am here for Charlie."

"To comfort him you mean? Because you thought I was dead?" My voice took on an almost pensive tone as I 'reasoned' out why it mattered. "So you didn't come back for me, you came back to see Charlie. Huh. Well, you can still comfort him after all."

Carlisle's countenance went from mildly annoyed to outright perplexed at my last statement.

"What do you mean?" He asked quickly.

"Someone did die, just not the person you guys wanted…"

"Bella, we did NOT want you to die" He interrupted me.

I waved him off dismissively. "His friend, Harry Clearwater, died today, you remember Harry right?"

"Yes, Bella I do. But I want to go back to what you implied a minute ago. Do you think that your death is something we will celebrate?"

I sighed heavily. I really did NOT want to be having this conversation. The hole in my chest had been widening with each passing minute. The pain causing me to give into the bitterness and immaturity that ran tandem with it.

"I honestly do not know what to think when it comes to you and your family anymore." I whispered and turned toward the stairs taking them as quickly as I dared, praying not to fall.


	3. Sober

**AN – WOW. The response to this story has been pretty strong and positive! Here is chapter 2. Initially I was going to write this all in one chapter, but there is just too much Bella wanted to say. **

**Sorry for the small cliffy, but it was a logical break, for me anyway *smirks*. **

**Keep reading and reviewing – I will try to update again later today, BUT… I really have to finish my paper, write a speech, take 2 quizzes, write a performance appraisal – yeah I will be totally finishing most of that tomorrow. This story is just screaming at me every time I try to do anything else. **

**Oh yeah, two reminders, Bella is VERY VERY OOC in this story. And I don't own anything Twilight related. **

**Chapter 2 - Sober**

**Bella POV**

Of course I didn't get far. Carlisle's hand on my arm stopped me about halfway up the stairs. Thank god he has superhuman strength, my momentum up the stairs pulled against his restraint and would have landed me on my face had he been anyone else.

"Bella, we need to talk." He quietly uttered. "Please come back down."

Groovy. I really wanted to bury myself under my bed and sort my head out before having this conversation but I know that is not going to happen. Why didn't I stay at Jake's?

HOLY CRAP! Jake! I forgot about him. I hope he is ok. I almost kissed him tonight. No time to think about that now, I'll have to come back to that later.

Yeah. I am all kinds of messed up. I don't have closure with my first boyfriend; I think I have the hots for said boyfriend's (ex-boyfriend?) father – yeah, we aren't even going there either– and to cap off all the festivities, I think I have finally pushed my best friend past his breaking point and have lost him.

Tearing myself from my scintillating thoughts of doom, I followed my ex (I WILL say this with conviction now) boyfriend's hot ass father down the stairs and into the living room, sitting in Charlie's chair to put some space between Dr. McHottie and myself.

If I had any luck in the world the floor would open up and swallow me, chair and all. But since I am eternally challenged in the Karma department….

"Why do I get the distinct impression that you think we want you dead?" Carlisle asked as he sank awkwardly into our couch.

Oh great, he starts with THAT question. Praying that my mouth can keep up with my brain and actually piece the words together correctly, I start speaking.

"Ok, so WANT may be too strong of a word to use. No, let me finish." He was going to interrupt me and would have thrown me off my train of thought.

"Where do I start? I don't know what you know, what Alice has or hasn't seen. But that really doesn't matter does it? Or should it? Oh hell, ok. I am going to just dive in here. Please don't interrupt, with your vampire mind I know you can remember each and every question you will have for me, but I will definitely lose track of what I want to say with each interruption."

"Ok so, to start off, I am not the same Bella you guys left."

"I gathered as much." I glared at him. "Ok, Ok, no more interruptions please continue."

"This is slightly embarrassing, but when yo… I mean Edward and your family, left, a part of me died. I was inconsolable, a walking shell. It wasn't pretty. I don't know if you know how he left it, but he told me he didn't want me anymore and essentially left me in the woods." I could tell he wanted to say something at this, but looking into my eyes, he held back.

"I was found by one of the Quileute 'boys' – we'll go there later, I am not sure if you know what has happened again. Anyway, Sam had to carry me back to Charlie. I was damn near catatonic. I cannot tell you anything that happened those first few weeks. But slowly, I started to 'wake' up. I saw what my incapacitated state was doing to Charlie. I saw the looks from the kids at school, they pitied me. I didn't want to be pitied. But I was hurt, and I have to say – YOUR family, ALL of you – did that that to me. "I had to hold up my hand again as he opened his mouth to speak. "Please let me get through this, Carlisle. As I said before, I have changed. I slowly pulled myself out of that pit of despair and began to analyze my relationship with Edward."

I jumped up from the chair and began to pace the room, how is he going to take what I am going to say next? Will he understand everything I went through? Can I explain it effectively? Crap where did that come from?

I tripped over something on the floor, and was sure I was about to face plant into the carpet when suddenly, I was hauled up against a rock hard chest. Strangely, heat flooded through me. Every inch of my body that touched his tingled. Ok, so "tingled" was not adequate to describe the feelings flooding my body, but since I was hopelessly lost in the depths of his butterscotch eyes, I couldn't think of a word that fit.

Oh, for heaven's sake, what AM I doing? Here I am, planning on explaining how I got over his son and became this strong, independent person, and I am going all gooey at the touch of Edward's father. Did I hit my head on the cliff? That must be it; that would explain why I thought there was this ….connection between Carlisle and I. Either that or I was dreaming.

Praying silently that the dream theory won, I pushed away from Carlisle. He let me go easily, but was still staring at me. His eyes drifted momentarily to my lips, or did I imagine that?

Get a grip, Bella!

"Thank you. Obviously my coordination has not improved. Now where was I?" I chewed on my bottom lip trying to remember what I had last said before I fell into his arms and his ….FOCUS Bella!!!

"You analyzed your relationship with Edward?" He prompted gently.

"Right. Well with all the time on my hands, I slowly came to the realization that what Edward and I had was not healthy, for me anyway. I was totally dazzled by him. He was so gorgeous, unfailingly polite, and wanted nothing more than to take care of me. I think that last part is what blinded me the most. I spent my entire life taking care of first my mother and then Charlie. For someone to want to take care of me? I couldn't even imagine. In my blinded state, hell – addicted is a better word, he was like a drug that I couldn't get enough of. Anyway, because of this, I overlooked a lot of things that raised red flags in my head. First off, he snuck into my room, while that could be considered highly romantic – if I was aware of it – for him to do it that first time when I was sleeping? Hello, creepy! His almost obsessive need to be near me 24/7 would most likely have become suffocating, if I ever snapped out of my daze. I hate people that 'hover' and am so glad that my parents don't do that. And then he wouldn't listen to my desire to become one of you. What was that all about? Am I that incapable of making my own decision? Would he have been making all my decisions had we stayed together? Would I have lost myself? I probably would have." I had resumed my pacing. Carlisle sat back down on the couch gingerly, as if expecting me to fall again and wanting to be ready to catch me.

I moved a bit further away from him and the couch. I did not need any more distractions from him, his eyes, or his touch. I stopped pacing and looked out the front window, imagining what I would see if it were not nighttime.

"It is a good thing he didn't come back right away; I probably would have taken him back." I sighed heavily. "However, now, well….everything has changed. I don't want to go back to that type of relationship. I want someone in my life who sees me equally, who supports any decision I make – even if they think it is the wrong one – and lets me learn from the experience. I….ok, here is the thing….I have fallen out of love with Edward, if I was ever really 'in love' with him to begin with, I don't know. My life is taking a different path now. I had to force myself to put one foot in front of the other at first, but now I am almost effortlessly walking what was probably the natural path my life would have taken if there were no Vampires." Fearing his reaction to my word vomit, I sat back down in the chair. "Ok, I know you want to speak, I need to catch my breath anyway…wait, Edward isn't here is he?"

Carlisle lifted a hand to run through his hair, my eyes automatically followed its path. I couldn't help wondering what his hair felt like, would it be soft? Would my fingers sink into the depths easily? Would he like it?

Hellfire, why do I keep going there? I tear my gaze away and force it down to my hands in my lap, which I have clenched together on purpose.

"Bella, I don't know what to say. I….no, Edward has not returned with us. He has not been with the family since we left. We talk to him occasionally but haven't heard from him for a few weeks now. You have shared a lot with me; have bared your soul and your emotions. I don't know what I can say to that." He gaze dropped to my hands clenched together in my lap, one perfect eyebrow arched slightly before he moved his gaze away and stood up.

Oh fudge balls, he is coming closer. I gulped as he knelt down in front of me and took my hands into his. I wanted to bolt out of the chair but I was stuck. There was no way I could move him, I briefly contemplated escaping over the arm of the chair before I realized I would most likely have to detach myself from my hands to complete the escape.

Swallowing past the huge lump forming in my throat, I urged my body and mind to remain focused on the conversation and ignore the sensation my hands in his were igniting. I swore I saw him look down at our hands with a slightly confused look, but it was gone so fast and his eyes once more met mine that I probably imagined it.

"Bella, I am fundamentally sorry what happened. What we all put you through. Words cannot describe how ashamed I am that we listened to Edward and left when he…."

"What?" I cut him off. "Edward TOLD you to leave and you DID? Jesus, Carlisle does he control EVERYTHING?" I pulled my hands out of his, wincing slightly – he had tried to hold on and had a pretty strong grip, but he did let me go easily. I leapt over the arm of the couch, intending for it to be graceful, ha.

I waved him off as I stumbled for a minute.

"You mean to tell me, that I lost all of you because of Edward? Why?"

"Bella, he thought you would be better off if there were no vampires in your life, that you would be 'safer'" Carlisle said softly, sitting back on his heels in front of the empty chair.

"Wow, how noble of him. He thought taking the family I desperately wanted to join away from me and leaving me to the mortal world was better for me?" I began pacing again.

"See, this is what I mean about the decisions thing. He never even took into consideration what I wanted. He didn't even think about the dangers that lurked waiting for me to be left alone. He left me unable to defend myself against Laurent and Victoria, or at least he _thought_ he did."

"Bella, he did what he thought was best." Carlisle tried to convince me, but even his voice was beginning to lack conviction. "Wait, did you say Laurent and Victoria? And what do you mean 'he _thought _ he did, what does that mean? Someone here helped you? Who?'"

"You should know this Carlisle, you made the treaty with them." I flung at him. Yeah I was pissed. They abandoned me out of some absurd hero complex of Edward's. I lost my best friend and second family all because HE thought I would be safer with them gone. Huh!

"What do you mean…treaty?…NO! They've returned?" His face, if possible, paled even more.

**AN – All chapter titles will have a song reference – this one is Pink's Sober, listen to it, this is how I equate what Bella feels in regards to getting over Edward. Let me know if you know which song Chapter 1 refers to. **

**One parting note, obviously things in my world went MUCH differently after they left. However, the friendship with Jake DID happen, but lets just say that Bella was a little more open to it moving forward…….**


	4. Face to Face

**AN – Ok, so here is yet another installment! The dialogue between these two just keeps flowing out of me, and they still have so much more to say. **

**A special thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed and added this story to their alerts. **

**Chapter 3 – Face to Face**

**Bella POV**

I felt bad for springing it on him like that. I guess that answers my question regarding whether Alice had seen them returning. Hmmm…ok so that only leaves what? 1,235,645 or so to go right?

Carlisle looked really shocked; I braved moving closer to him and sat cross-legged on the floor in front of him. He slumped backward and to the side, leaning against the chair. His sculpted hands once again traveling through his hair, only this time, I paid it little attention. I was still pissed.

"Yes, the wolves have returned. It's kind of a good thing too. Do you remember the Quileute 'boy' I told you found me after ….well you know? His name is Sam and he is apparently the leader of the new pack. I don't even want to think what would have happened to me if he had not found me."

My eyes narrowed on Carlisle as he absorbed what I was saying. I hadn't got to the 'good' parts yet. I wondered how he would react when I revealed all that the wolves had done for me lately?

Since he did not speak up, I continued my line of questioning regarding their 'decision' to abandon me.

"Carlisle, why? Why did you let Edward decide you all needed to leave?"

He didn't answer right away. His sharp intake of breath and a slight tightening around his mouth were the only indications that he had even heard my question. I sat there staring at him, struggling to ignore the gorgeous depths of his eyes as he stared right back at me.

"I wish the answer to that was more than what it is, but simply, we believed that Edward was right. That if we left you and took the danger that surrounds our lifestyle away, you would be safe and would pursue a 'normal' life." He answered quietly. He was really subdued, my heart fractured slightly at the underlying pain that he was obviously trying to disguise. But wait, why was he in pain?

"Did you even stop to consider what I wanted? Any of you? Emmett? Alice? Or did you all just blindly follow Edward?" I tried; I really did, to keep the bitterness out of my voice. But it seeped through and bled between us.

He considered his answer for a long time. I could see the thoughts as they passed across his face and through his eyes, but I did not speak again. I let him process and formulate whatever it was he wanted to say to me. Nothing that he could say would take away the pain I had dealt with at their desertion, but I would try to remain open minded to his words.

I knew he was ready to speak when he took a deep, unneeded breath and wrapped his arms around his knees, bringing them to his chest. It struck me momentarily how uncharacteristic this pose was for him. But I shook the thoughts off to concentrate on his words.

"The family has always relied heavily on Edward, Alice and Jasper due to their gifts. Most of the time the decision to move on from one place to another is made by something experienced by one of those three. It has become a habit, if you will, that we follow their suggestions no questions asked, it has kept this family alive and off the Volturi's radar for the last century. " He must have noticed that I was about to interrupt him, because he grabbed my hands again. This time I completely ignored the sparks that flew at the contact. I was even more pissed, _habit?_ They left me out of HABIT? Oh Hell no!

"Please Bella, let me finish? I can see that something I said has angered you even more. Let me finish what I intended to say before you rush to judge our actions?"

I did the only thing I could do. I clamped down tight on my tongue and nodded my head slightly. Oh yeah, and I tugged my hands out of his again. This time there was no pressure, he let them go immediately.

"Thank you. After the…incident…on your birthday, Edward was…well he was not himself. I could see the guilt and fear begin to consume him. All of us tried to talk to him, tried to get him to open up to what he was feeling, but he shut us all out. A couple of hours after he returned from your house, he called a family meeting and declared that we were leaving."

I jumped up at this admission. He DECLARED? What the hell? My nostrils were surely flaring by now and I tasted a faint metallic taste in my mouth. Lovely, the last time I bled around a Cullen my life imploded and here I am doing it again, except, this is the one Cullen who didn't have issues with me bleeding around him. I was fairly certain I was safe, but I checked the eyes covertly to ensure they were still golden and not black with lust and they were locked on me as I moved about the room again. Yup, good to go. So, biting my tongue, literally, is not a good thing, let's switch to the figurative and see what else Carlisle has to reveal.

"Are you ok Bella?" He asked. Probably picked up on the scent of the blood. Stupid, annoying, super senses. I nodded again, unwilling to speak because if I started, I probably wouldn't stop and would not let him finish what he wanted to say.

"Right, ok. After Edward said that we were leaving, we each tried again to reach him – to get him to open up. But all he would say was that leaving was the only way you could live. We had Alice try to search your future to see if she could help us with our arguments." My mouth dropped at this. "Yes, Bella, we DID argue with him, for hours actually."

He got up off the floor and walked over to me. I had turned away from him to process his last statement. He took my shoulders into his hands and gently turned me toward him, one hand slid under my chin and tenderly lifted my face and forced my eyes to meet his again.

Oh yeah, my breathing stopped. Completely. Stopped.

"Bella, I…we did NOT want to leave you. You have to believe that."

I was lost in his eyes again. But I knew that his words were true, wait, how can that be true? Did Edward force them all to leave? My lungs began to scream for air. I pulled my face away from his hand but did not break eye contact.

"And yet you DID leave me. All of you left and only one of you said goodbye. How do you explain that?" The bitterness was back but this time it was heavily laced with the all the pain I had experienced upon finding out they had all deserted me.

"Bella, I wish we could take back our decision. I see now what it has done to you. We should have fought Edward more, one of us should have come back to check on you." He admitted on a soft whisper.

"That's a lot of 'should have's', Carlisle." I turned and walked away from him, sitting back in the chair. His empty hands hung in the air for a moment before dropping to his sides.

"Yes." He walked over to the window and gazed out it. Unlike me, I am sure he didn't have to imagine what was out there. I am sure he could see it all clearly.

I didn't know what else to say. There was still so much I had not told him. But it kept coming back to this, the fact that they left me. Seeing him, breathing him in had opened that hole in my chest again, but I guess I had my answers. I couldn't begin to process it yet. I would go over this conversation in detail later, in my head. But right now, I needed to know what he and the family intended to do. Were they coming back or was I about to be abandoned yet again? Did I want them to come back?

"Carlisle? Now that you have seen me, what are you going to do? Are you going to leave again?"

"What do you want me to do, Bella?"

**AN - *Ducks* I'll try to post the next chapter soon, I promise.**


	5. It's Not Over

**AN - Still don't own the characters or premise behind Twilight, or anything related. **

**Although, I have been a good girl, maybe Santa will bring me a hot vamp or wolf with an 8pack (of legal age of course!!! ) **

**Chapter 4 - It's Not Over**

"It's a little late to be asking me that question, don't you think?" I sunk further back into the chair. This is the one question I did not want to even contemplate tonight. What did I want? I missed Alice, I missed Emmett, I missed all of them really. I didn't want to think about Esme, she was like a mother to me and the thoughts I had been having about her husband tonight were no where near fatherly.

"I am sorry, Bella. I don't know what else to say and I know that those words are no where near enough to begin to atone for the damage we have inflicted on you." I could hear the pain in his voice, it brought a small measure of satisfaction…to know that he got it and that he was feeling it now.

"Carlisle, I don't know how to answer that question. I spent months moving past the desolation and despair. I didn't just lose Edward, I lost my best friend too along with the rest of you. I loved you, all of you. Let me finish my story and we will see where that leaves things ok? Maybe you will find, in the end, that you WANT to leave again?"

"That is an impossibility." He breathed quietly, but just loud enough for me to hear.

I swallowed past another lump in my throat and stuffed down the thrills of excitement that betrayed my body at his words before continuing.

"The path that I spoke of earlier? I have formed new friendships and strengthened some of my old ones. My new best friend is a wolf, Jacob. He and his tribe protected me from Laurent, killing him somehow and have currently been running patrols to keep Victoria away from Forks and hopefully dispatch her like Laurent."

"Victoria? She is after you? She is here? Why didn't Alice see this?"

"I don't know, Carlisle, why didn't she see anything else I suffered through over the last few months? Or did she and she just ignored it? Maybe at Edward's direction?" I could see the sting of my words as they registered on his face.

"Bella, Alice loves you, she would not leave you to suffer if she had seen any of this." His eyes were pleading with me to believe him, but I looked away. I wanted to retain the anger.

"Let's table the discussion on how Alice feels for me, mkay? I am trying to tell you….I moved on. Tonight, with Jacob…I was ready to…but then I saw your car… and you are here in my living room. Maybe I needed this to work through my final issues? Who knows."

"What do you mean? What were you ready to do?" He demanded.

"Jake loves me. I have known that for quite a while now. And, well, just recently, I realized that I love him back. It is not the same way I felt for Edward, thank god. It is healthier, more balanced. Tonight, I was ready to tell him how I felt and move our relationship onto the next level. But then he caught a whiff of your scent and I saw your car and I didn't think, I just ran in here. Who knows where he is now or if he will even speak to me after tonight?" I turned my head back toward the window, he was out there somewhere.

"I…I don't know what to say. I don't want my arrival here to disturb your life up further than I already have done. Do you want me to leave?"

YES! NO! Damnit, I don't know!!!

"I don't think you leaving or staying will have much impact either way. I think the damage has already been done." I sighed.

"Bella, you have given me a lot to think about tonight, I mean Victoria is here, Laurent was here, the wolves are back, everything else you have shared. I need to gather the rest of the family and discuss this, see what we do next." He had moved back to the couch and lowered his head to his hands, elbows on his knees, as he spoke.

"Don't you mean, 'I have to consult Edward and Alice and see what they think we should do?'" I asked bitterly.

"No, although, I can see how you would think that after our discussion tonight. I mean that I am going to call a family meeting. With your permission, I would like to discuss these events with the family? We need to figure out what our next steps are. We will not be consulting Edward; he contacts us every few months, but does not accept our calls. Alice is inexplicably blind when it comes to what has been going on here. I am glad she was able to see your, um…adventure, today though. And Bella, I AM glad I came back tonight. I…needed to know that you were alright." His eyes and countenance rang with his sincerity, but it was still hard for me to swallow.

"So, you are leaving?" Again.

"For now, yes. But, if you choose, I would like to remain in contact with you? May I leave you my cell number?" Did his voice sound hopeful? Get a grip Bella; of course it didn't, not in the way you are thinking anyway.

I rubbed my eyes wearily. Confrontations take a lot out of you.

"Ok, let me get something to write with and on. " I went off in search of pen and paper. When I came back he was near the front door, almost like he couldn't wait to get away. I handed him the paper and pen, careful not to touch him again. I did not know why I was having the reactions to him that I had been having all night. Did I always react to him like this? Was I blinded to it by Edward's dazzling?

He handed me the paper back.

"Bella, may I ask for your number as well? Do you have a cell phone now?" He asked.

"Um, yeah, I do actually." I wrote my information down on the bottom half of the paper and tore it off to give to him.

Awkward silence ensues. We were looking at one another, his hand was paused on the door and there was a split second look of indecision on his face before he turned more toward the door and away from me.

"Ok, so, I hope to hear from you soon, but I won't hold my breath." I mutter as he walks out the door. I didn't think he heard me at first but he paused and sighed heavily.

"I will call, Bella." He promised.

I closed the door before he made it down the first step and flew to my room. A million thoughts were going through my mind at once.

Why was I so attracted to him? Why did I feel all those sparks whenever we touched? Was he always that devastatingly handsome?

Where was Alice? Did she even care what happened? Why didn't she call? She had my home number, they all did.

Was Jacob coming back? Would I get a chance to explain to him? Would he ever talk to me again?

The more I thought, the more confused I became. I felt raw; the hole in my chest was gaping and bleeding.

I exhaled sharply as my hand touched the door to my room. All I wanted to do was collapse in bed and sleep, I would work through everything else later.

Have I mentioned how karma hates me? Or maybe not, she seems to be throwing me a small bone, a peace offering, I guess.

Sitting on my bed was my personal sun, my wolf, my Jacob.

"Bella." He breathed. "Did you mean it?"

Mean what? Oh for the love of Pete, what did he hear? Damn super hearing, what DIDN'T he hear?

"Which part exactly, Jacob?" I wasn't even in my room yet, still had the knob in my hand.

"You…me…next level….did you mean that?" His eyes were burning into mine, not quite as intensely as the butterscotch ones from a few minutes ago, but still intense enough to cause a shiver of awareness to travel up my spine.

"Yes, Jake, I meant every word" I whispered as I walked one foot in front of the other on the path I had spent months carving for myself. The path that led to the arms, and lips of my Jacob.

**AN – *Ducks and covers***

**I know I am going to be hated for this, but this was the natural path my story was taking. Don't worry, this is STILL a Bella/Carlisle. But Carlisle is still with Esme at this point. **

**If it makes any difference, the next chapter will be from his POV? *bats eys***


	6. Cells

**AN – Thanks for all the reviews. I am pretty excited that this story already has over 1000 hits. Only 20 reviews though ****…. Oh well, can't have everything eh?**

**Sorry for springing Jacob on you all like that! But it is necessary, trust me. **

**I still don't own Twilight, still want to jump the Cullen men and am counting down to the day is no longer illegal to drool over Jacob. **

**I have to thank my daughter for helping me with this story. As we have been discussing plots, we have decided to co-author an Esme FanFic….but I won't say what it is about. HA! **

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 4 – Cells**

**Carlisle POV**

"Ok, so, I hope to hear from you soon, but I won't hold my breath." She muttered as I walked out the door. I heard the despair in her voice through the sarcasm and anger, it was what made me stop mid step and contemplate turning around and taking her into my arms again. My arms were aching really to feel her in them. I resisted, more because of how she had reacted to my touch throughout the night than my general confusion regarding how having her in my arms made me feel. Whenever I touched her, electricity zinged through me like I had been hit by lightening. But I don't think she felt the same, every time we touched, she pulled back. There was once where I swore I saw something…Snap out of it, man. She is…was…Edward's. Esme, your wife, remember her?

"I will call, Bella." I promised, pulling myself out of my insane thoughts.

I walked to my car at human speed, oddly subdued. I had this peculiar feeling I was on the cusp of something, a change perhaps? I don't know, but I wasn't sure if I liked it. Why was this happening now? What was it? Does it have something to do with Bella?

I started the car and turned the car back onto the road, prepared for the short drive back to Canada where the family waited for me.

Alright, since you thought her name, what the HELL was all that? Why were all those sparks flying? I had to admit, even if it was just to myself, that I had always thought Bella was beautiful. I would never have labeled her "attractive" because up until recently, I had thought she would be in my life as a daughter.

But tonight, the thoughts that flashed through my head and the reactions of my body were definitely NOT fatherly.

What does this mean? My thoughts went immediately to Esme, my mate for the past 85 years. It felt like a betrayal to admit this, but I had never felt those sparks with Esme. There was love and intense passion, but no electricity, not like I had just experienced. I almost felt…alive…tonight. Does that mean….?

My cell phone ringing cut my thought short, which is a good thing, I don't think I liked where it was heading.

"Alice." I didn't need to check the caller ID to know she would be calling. I knew she had probably saw everything that had happened with Bella and most likely even what I was just thinking.

"Carlisle! Tell me why I just saw you and BELLA..."

"ALICE – NO!" I roared, cutting her off abruptly. "Do NOT tell me what you saw…please?" I begged her.

It was extremely quiet on the other end of the phone. I had never spoken to her like that before. I started to apologize but she cut me off this time.

"Ok…I don't understand though, isn't she dead? How could you be….thinking like that about a dead person? How is Charlie? Why didn't I see you talking to him or anyone there? You kind of disappeared there for a while, Jazz and I are actually on our way down there because…."

"Alice," I cut her off again, gently this time. She didn't see any of my conversation with Bella? Was that possible? How? A small part of me rejoiced that my time with her was truly my own. No one else was privy to everything that we discussed; no one else would know what transpired between the two of us. Well, at least not until Edward returned and read it in my memories.

"Please stop and turn around. I need to speak to the family together. Bella is alive. She jumped off the cliff for….fun; it appears, not to take her life. I can explain everything, but I want to do it with everyone at once."

"She …is…alive? But. I…I don't get it, she disappeared! So did you! What is wrong with my visions?" I could tell Alice was about to hit panic mode.

"Alice, stop. I am sure you and your visions are fine. You saw me just a few minutes ago right?"

"Yeah, and about that…oh. You don't want to know, sorry. I forgot." She was clearly confused.

My conversation with Bella had been enlightening on many levels. She shined a huge spotlight on the fact that the family relies heavily on Alice's visions and Edwards mind reading that I was beginning to wonder if we had let both affect the decisions we had made. Alice's visions were subjective, based on individual decisions. But what if knowing the outcome inadvertently swayed the decision maker to the path that was seen, instead of choosing the path that was truly what they wanted? This is why I asked her to not tell me what she had seen.

"Alice, I am not sure what exactly you saw. I had not even completed the thought before you called me. But, I will admit to this – something changed for me tonight, I am not sure what or now. But I know that I need to think through what those changes are exactly and what they mean for all of us. And, I want to do this on my own. I want my future to be based off my own thought processes and choices. I don't want to be influenced by any visions. Please?"

"Sure, Carlisle. I guess we will see you in….when you get back?" I could tell she was slightly hurt and that this was going to be a big change for her. It was going to be a big change for all of us.

"Yes, I will be there soon. Please tell everyone about Bella and that we need to have a family meeting when I return. Also, do you think you can try to get in touch with Edward? He should be there for this discussion." I don't know how I am going to keep my thoughts from him, but he does have a right to be a part of what the family decides to do.

"Of course. See you …soon."

And I am left alone with my thoughts again.

Now that I know Alice is going to keep anything she sees to herself, I let my thoughts run through every possible 'future' I could imagine. I saw me taking Esme to our island and staying there for several years basking in the love and happiness that had sustained us both for the past 8 decades. Then I saw me on the same island with a completely different companion, one with chocolate eyes and a delicious blush. My thoughts lingered here for some time, imagining….everything. I completely let go of the awkwardness I felt at feeling this way for my son's ex-girlfriend and let myself get lost in the possibilities.

When I started to get closer to the border, I began to reign in my thoughts. I did not need to enter the house as aroused as I currently was.

As soon as I stopped fantasizing about unrequited passion– I mean Bella stated that she wanted Jacob, she would never look at me in the way I had just been thinking about her – my thoughts immediately went to Esme. I felt like I was betraying her. I had never thought of another woman the entire time we had been together. What does this mean for us?

I had run out of time to contemplate the answer to that question. I had just turned off the main road and was heading down the winding path toward our current home. The colonial style home was one of Esme's favorites, she had chosen the deep red brick and the white shutters that framed the nine frontal windows. Even the flagstone path leading to the brown front door was Esme's personal choice and favorite.

They were waiting for me on the porch. My eyes fell on my Esme, if I had a heart, it would have swelled with the love I felt for her. I felt foolish for my earlier thoughts. Surely this is where I was meant to be?

I stopped my Mercedes and alighted from the car at vampire speed, I needed to wrap Esme in my and lose myself in her scent. Maybe it would wash away the other, dangerously more appealing one. My arms were around her before I even came to a complete stop, my lips seeking out hers in the same instant. We kissed passionately, more passionately than we ever did in front of the 'children'. I felt my desire for her spark, but the moment I thought that word, I realized that even through the desire and passion, the sparks I had felt around Bella were absent.

"Whoa Dad! My corneas! ROSE – get the bleach!!!" Leave it to Emmett to complete the mood killing process.

The resounding crack had to have been from Rose, I didn't even need to look for verification. My eyes burned into Esme's. I could see the passion and love there for me, and I identified the same emotions in myself, but I couldn't explain the vague uneasiness that had seeped into me. Nor could I deny the flash of chocolate eyes that …..

At Alice's gasp, I turned away from Esme. She had to have seen something, maybe what my mind was about to visualize. I looked at her about to remind her of our discussion, but she shook her head slightly.

"I assume Alice told you that we need to have a family meeting?" I asked turning back toward Esme. She nodded and I heard the affirmative murmurs from everyone else.

"Is it true that Bella is alive?" Emmett asked. I could hear the excitement in his voice. He truly loved her as a sister and had missed her just as much as Alice had. I had not seen how the news of her 'death' hit him, but I am sure he took it hard.

"Yes, Emmett, she is alive and well. I will share everything I have learned soon. But first, I must hunt. Alice? Will you please join me?" Without looking at anyone I could feel the shock ripple through. I think they all assumed I would take Esme, for more than a 'hunt'. For me to single out Alice, I am sure it added to the confusion and mystery surrounding my time away.

"Sure." She didn't hesitate.

I had taken down a few bucks and was sitting on a fallen tree, watching Alice finish of her meal of mountain lion. I knew we had to talk; I needed to lay down some new ground rules for her visions – and for Edward if he ever returned.

That reminded me. "Were you able to get in touch with Edward?" I asked as she wiped the corner of her mouth delicately with one finger.

"No, he wouldn't answer his phone. You know how he is though and if he follows the schedule he has been lately, he will call in a couple of months." She walked over toward me and sat down cross-legged at my feet.

"Carlisle – about my vision…why don't you want me to tell you what I saw?" Leave it to Alice to just jump right into it.

"That is why I asked you to join me. We need to talk about your visions." I sighed heavily. This was going to be hard, for all of us, but it needed to be done.

"The family, me in particular, has relied heavily on your and Edward's gifts. They have kept us out of danger and we have managed a pretty lucrative existence. However, while I was talking to Bella, I saw a different side to these gifts. I saw how they take away our free will." I looked down at her to gauge her reaction to my words. She was nodding her head; of course, she had probably seen this whole conversation and already knew the outcome.

I sighed again, that is exactly why I needed to do this.

"I am not sure how much of our decisions have been based off what we actually wanted, Alice. Your gift usually shows you what choice we end up making, but how do we really know that is where we would have ended up? You see something, you tell us what we have decided to do, and then we do it. What if your visions have been shaping our decisions instead of the other way around?"

I saw that she was about to speak, but I held up my hand to stop her.

"I know that you saw…something…between Bella and I. I am…confused…about what happened while I was with her and I know I need to come to terms with it. But, Alice, I do NOT want anything you see to influence my thought processes. I want to do this on my own and make choices based off what I truly want and think is best for everyone. In order to do that, there needs to be some rules associated with your gift. I hate to pull the "Dad" card, but it is necessary."

She hadn't moved, was still looking at me. Even though I knew that she knew what I was about to say and was obviously alright with it, she was extremely calm…almost eerily so. I was nervous. This was going to be a radical change….

"Alice, I have to ask that from now on, you keep any visions you have to yourself. The only exception is if the person or persons involved are in mortal danger. If one of us is about to make a decision that is going to get someone killed, then you must speak. But if someone is about to make a decision that may emotionally hurt another or end up being a bad decision for any other reason – you must keep that to yourself. We need to start making decisions based on our wants and desires again. And if those decisions are wrong, then we learn the lesson from them and move on."

I reached down and took her hands in mine.

"Starting now, Alice. Can you do this?"

"Yes, Carlisle, I can. It is going to be hard at first. I am so used to just blurting things out. And you have to know that I may still speak to Jasper about things that I see, I cannot hold everything in. I would go mad again." She shivered slightly at this, probably a vague memory of her human years.

"That is acceptable, I trust Jasper to keep things like that to himself." Speaking of Jasper, I had forgotten about his gift, we would need to have a talk at some point as well. Emotional manipulation could be just as bad as what knowing the future holds when making decisions.

"Carlisle, I won't speak of what I saw in details, but I know you are facing a very difficult time and have some really tough decisions to make. Please, remember what you told me today. Make your decisions based on what YOU want and what YOU desire, not what is best for everyone else. Follow your heart."

At that she jumped up, kissed my cheek lightly and was gone.

Follow my heart?

For years my heart has been with Esme, but I wasn't 100% sure that is where my future lies any longer.

**AN – I have the next 2 chapters sketched out and should have another update posted tomorrow or Thursday at the lastest. **

**Want a sneak peek into what is coming? Send me a review and I just might give you some inside scoop. :D**


	7. Haunted

**Disclaimer – It all belongs to , not me. **

**Chapter 6 – Haunted**

**Carlisle POV**

Looking around the table, this is the only time we ever use it, I looked each of my family members individually. I did not know where to start, there was so much to cover.

Taking a deep breath, I decided to start with the discussion I had just completed with Alice. Well, not ALL of it, but the part that concerned them anyway, the part about the visions.

"I know you all are anxious to find out what happened in Forks and I promise I will get there. But first I wanted to speak to you about a conversation Alice and I had on our hunt." Would they agree with my decision or think I had finally lost my mind?

"During my conversation with Bella, I realized that we have been relying more and more heavily on Alice and Edward's abilities to make our decisions. It is clear that the last decision we made this way did not turn out as we had hoped. We hurt Bella, badly, by leaving. She didn't just lose Edward when we left; she lost a best friend, an older brother, and a second mother." I looked at Alice, Emmett and Esme in turn. Would they pick up on the fact that I did not mention what she lost in me? Did I even know anymore?

"None of us stopped to consider what Bella wanted, and if we were honest with ourselves, I do not believe we even paid attention to what we wanted as individuals. We listened to Edward's reasoning and relied on Alice's ability to 'see' that we were going to leave in the end. Did we even put up much of a fight? Or did we just accept the inevitability of Alice's vision coming true? This is what I talked to Alice about earlier." I leaned forward slightly, resting my arms on the table, palms down. I did not know how this would go. Alice may have, but thankfully she was betraying nothing, just gazing at Jasper.

"Starting now, with this discussion and continuing forward, I have asked Alice to refrain from sharing any vision she has. The only exception is if her vision involves someone in mortal danger." I stopped talking and looked around the table. Alice had not turned from Jasper and Jasper did not show any reaction to my words. They must have discussed this earlier. Rose and Emmett looked quite stunned. Esme looked pensive. No one seemed to be anywhere near capable of speech so I continued on.

I quickly explained everything I had learned from Bella during our talk. The wolves return, Laurent, Victoria, the pain we left her with and her growth as she dealt with it. I explained how angry and bitter she was towards us, mostly for Alice and Emmett's benefit. They needed to know she was not going to welcome us back in her life easily. I also talked about how she told me she was over Edward and was ready to move on, with a wolf, no less. Then I circled back to talk about Victoria and how she was still out there.

"It seems that even with the best intentions; all we did was leave Bella in more danger than she was with us living in Forks. I am concerned about Victoria. I am sure the wolves could handle her, but I think we need to move back. Not to Forks per se, but maybe Seattle, at least close enough so that we can help if Victoria attacks. I would like to discuss this and find out each of your thoughts on the matter. Again, we will NOT use Alice's visions to help us make this decision. Esme, dear, what do you want to do?" I started with her because I was sure I knew what Alice and Emmett would say and I did not want their spouses answer affected by that knowledge.

"We need to be closer to Bella. She is in danger because of her association with our family; it is up to us to ensure she is protected from it. I agree with you." I smiled gently at her and nodded at her response. I moved my gaze to Rose next; I could read in her face what her answer was going to be.

"Rose?" I prompted.

"Absolutely not, I do not want to go back there." She didn't add any details and I did not press. Emmett however was looking down at her with a pained expression. I deliberately skipped over him and moved to Jasper. This was tricky, I was almost sure that Alice had shared any vision she had seen regarding this with him. Would he base his decision on that or would he think it through on a different level?

"I go where Alice goes, and I am sure we all know what her decision is going to be. However, when we first met Victoria, I sensed something off her, something lethal. I think we need to find her, no matter where that takes us and we need to deal with the threat she poses to all of us. I agree to go back, and also agree that Seattle is the best alternative. I am supposed to be in college anyway, right?" He said the last with a small smile. I think that is the most I have ever heard him speak at one time. I nodded back at him, unable to stop from smiling slightly back at him.

Taking a deep breath, I looked at the final two. Emmett was still looking at Rose; his expression had changed from one of pain to one of resignation. Alice was still gazing at Jasper. I decided to obtain Emmett's response first, I was curious about what he had resigned himself too.

"Emmett?" I asked gently, this could get sticky with Rose having said no earlier.

He sighed heavily and then answered, "No. You all know I love Bella like a sister and would do anything for her. I also love a fight, but I go with Rose and if she says she won't go back, then we don't go back."

Everyone had jerked to look at him, shocked expressions all around. None more shocked than Rose though. The shock on Rose's face was quickly replaced by one of absolute love and joy. He chose her and I could see how much that meant to her.

"Alice? Do I even have to ask?" I couldn't keep the amusement out of my voice. She had started bouncing slightly as she realized her turn was coming closer. She finally turned away from Jasper.

"Probably not! OF COURSE I want to go back. I didn't want to leave her in the first place!! When do we leave??" If it weren't for Jasper's arm around her waist I am sure she would have flown out of her seat.

"Not so fast. We are split. Emmett, Rose – I do not want to split the family or leave you two behind. Rose, are you sure you do not want to come?" I had seen the resolve in her face but had to ask once more.

"It's nothing against Bella at all Carlisle. It's just what you said about how our decisions have been affected by Alice and Edward. It hit home with me. I, well Emmett and I, have been doing what the family wanted because they always assured us it was for the best. I never wanted Bella to become a part of our world, you all knew that. Yet, we listed to the psychic and brain-boy. I wish we had come to this realization before we put Bella in any danger." She sighed and looked over at Emmett. "I am sorry, I know you really want to be a part of this, but since Carlisle is urging us to make choices based off what we want and desire, I really want to be far away from this whole mess."

Emmett hugged her to him and told her it was ok, he understood why she was making this choice. He turned to Jasper and said with a smirk, "Kick some vampire ass for me bro!"

That got everyone laughing and we began to make our plans. It was decided that Em and Rose would leave almost immediately; they weren't exactly sure where they wanted to go. Rose was thrilled with the potential excitement that came with spontaneity. It was decided that Alice and Jasper would leave in a week. They would go back to Forks to the old house and Alice would work to rebuild her relationship with Bella. They would also search out a place for us in Seattle. Since we had the house near Forks, we had never obtained any property in the Seattle area.

I needed put in my notice at the hospital I was currently working at. I was not sure what I would do in Seattle. Negotiating a transfer would be a breeze, but with everything on my mind and the danger of Victoria, I was thinking that maybe I needed to take a break for a bit while I figured everything out. I would think that through later.

Esme would care for closing this place up. We wouldn't sell it; having houses everywhere was extremely convenient. She would make sure the necessary items were shipped to the new house and would prepare the rest for storage until we returned again.

I wished we had been able to get a hold of Edward, he needs to know what is going on.

"Carlisle, what about the issue with my visions? I know you want me to keep what I see to myself but lately there has been so much I DIDN'T see. Do you have any idea why?" Alice asked me.

All eyes turned to me. While I had a theory, I could not prove it.

"Alice, it seems like your visions disappear whenever a wolf is involved. I cannot prove this yet, maybe we can do some experimenting when we return?" She nodded at this but still looked very worried.

We all stood. It was awkward for a minute, but then Rose grabbed Emmett's hand and dragged him out of the house, mumbling something about a hunt. Jasper grabbed Alice around her waist and swung her over his shoulder and headed toward the stairs. That left just Esme and I. She grabbed my hand and pulled me in the same direction Alice and Jasper had just disappeared to. I knew what she wanted, where she was taking me. I did not hesitate physically but my mind was whirling, it was a chaotic swirl of thoughts and emotions. One thought rang very clear…

"_I will call, Bella."_

I stopped walking, tugging slightly on Esme's hand. She turned to look at me, her face full of questions.

"I need to call Bella. She needs to know what we have decided. I promised I would call her. If we are ever going to rebuild her trust in us, it needs to start immediately. Go on ahead; I will join you as soon as I am done." She nodded and continued on to our room.

I turned and headed toward my study, pulling my cell phone out of my pocket as I walked. I made note of the time. It had been a little less than 12 hours since I left her. 12 hours? Why did it seem so much longer?

I did not need to look at the paper with her number on it. I had memorized it at first glance, my fingers keyed in her number absently. My mind immediately went to thoughts of her as the phone began ringing.

"Hello?" My breath caught in my throat as she answered. The force of emotion that flooded me with the sound of her voice caught me off guard and for the first time in many years, I was rendered speechless.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" She asked again. I needed to snap out of it and find my voice before she hung up. "Carlisle, is that you?"

"Yes Bella" I croaked out and then stopped to clear my throat. "It's me. I promised I would call. I spoke to the family today and we have come to a decision. Alice, Jasper, Esme and I will be returning to Washington within the month." I declared quickly.

"Why? Out of guilt? I don't need that Carlisle." Her angry response was quick.

"No, it is not out of guilt Bella. Why would you think that of me?" My own anger was just as quick and completely unexpected. Did she really think that guilt was the driving force behind my actions?

"What else is there? You left on a whim, a decision made by your son. Now, after seeing me again and knowing that I am still in danger, you decided to return? Sounds like guilt to me." She huffed.

"Bella, it is clear that you think I make decisions based off what Edward hears and Alice sees, and you are right up to a point. But that is not what is important right now. Your safety is extremely important to me. To all of us." I was going to go on, but she cut me off.

"I am safe. The wolves have protected me the last few months and will continue to do so. After you left last night, I was able to repair the damage your return inflicted on my relationship with Jake" That stung, a lot.

"We are together now." That stung even more, my chest constricted so tightly, I was glad for once that I did not need to inhale oxygen for life.

"I don't need you, or the family to return. I know you think you need to keep me safe but that isn't your job anymore, Carlisle." And the sting turns once again to quick anger, why does she insist I am doing this out of obligation?

"Bella, your assumptions are absurd. Why do you think I am only doing this out of guilt or obligation or some other far fetched notion? Last night you made me realize that I needed to start making decisions based on my wants and desires. I am coming back there because I WANT to, not because I feel guilty or feel like it is my obligation to be closer to you. I am doing this for me not you. I see Victoria as a personal threat not only to my family but to me as well. It is also important to me that I speak with the new pack of wolves to discuss the treaty. I will not put all that aside because of your childish belief that my actions are fueled by guilt and responsibility."

There was a stunned silence on the other end of the phone. I was somewhat stunned myself; I had not expected the force of emotions that came with her words. But I didn't really mean to insult her. I sighed and put my head in my hand.

"Bella, I am sorry. I didn't mean…alright well I did mean…but please stop trying to convince me to stay away. We are coming back, not to Forks, but to Seattle. I would like you to give us a chance to win back your trust. We will be close enough that we can all work to rebuild the relationships we had but also far enough away that you can still live the life you have started to build without us." I hesitated for a moment to give her a chance to respond.

"I'm sorry too Carlisle. I didn't mean to be so….well….you said it. Childish. This is hard for me, but I know on an intellectual level it is hard for you too, I am just letting my emotions rule my mouth at the moment."

I was not sure how to respond to that, so instead I told her that Alice and Jasper would be heading to Forks soon and would be staying at the old house while searching for a new house in Seattle.

"Great, that is all I need, the psychic vampire back. She will be forcing me into shopping trips and dresses because she "sees" that I will love them." She replied sarcastically, but I could hear the humor begin to creep back into her voice.

"Bella, Alice and I had a conversation regarding her visions. I will not give you the details; you can get those from Alice yourself if you wish. But I think you need to have your own conversation with Alice. Set some boundaries for your friendship and tell her what you need from her as a friend."

"Ok Carlisle, I am not sure how far that conversation is going to go, but I will try my best." She was clearly unconvinced.

I ended the call with another promise that I would call her in a couple of days to update her on when Esme and I would be heading down.

As I hang up the phone, I notice the music playing pretty loudly. I did not even hear it while I was talking to Bella, but now that we are done the melody of the music draws me in. As I listen, the lyrics strike a chord in me…one I know I will need to face and soon.

_Velvet drapes, glowing candles_

_Silent whispers_

_Of words inside of my head_

_The night that comes_

_It waits for me_

_Leads me to_

_The ending of another day_

_I'm haunted_

Alice. She cannot speak of her visions due to my new rule, but I can tell she is going to find other methods of sending us messages. Apparently tonight she is using music, this song in particular.

Perfect. Do I need to ban music too? Shaking my head, I know that I am not ready to face anything at the moment.

I head off to join my wife, in our room and our bed.

**AN – Be gentle! I know I am cruel; I threw Jacob at you and now am throwing Carlisle and Esme into bed together. Remember, they have been together a LONG time. I would not be right for him to just toss her aside. And he doesn't fully understand what is going on with Bella. **

**The lyrics and chapter title are from Lacuna Coil's song Spellbound. This song is actually my inspiration behind this story. I listened to it after seeing New Moon again and remembering the scene with Carlisle stitching Bella's arm, fanfic was born. That said, I can say that I will not put lyrics in here often, maybe not again at all, who knows. **

**Please review, I am thoroughly enjoying your reviews, seeing what you think of my drabble and even hearing you rant about Jacob! **

**Till next time…….**


	8. Welcome Home

**AN – To everyone expecting an update sooner than this…I apologize. Between work, school, kids, reading fan fiction, writing fan fiction, and my newest addiction of playing on Facebook my husband had become severely neglected by me. That was not a fun conversation, but I am glad we had it. I spent the last three and a half weeks reconnecting with him. So even though I am sorry I did not keep my promise to update sooner, I am not sorry about how I spent the time. **

**I am not 100% happy with this chapter and it has not yet been beta'd (if there are any major changes needed once my beta reads it, I will repost.) **

**Thank you to those who have sent me reviews on this story. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your comments! If you have not had a reply from me (mostly those sent in the last few weeks) I will be replying after I update my other FF story, hopefully tonight or tomorrow. **

**As always – the characters belong to Stephenie Meyer, the warped plot to me. **

**Chapter 7 – Welcome Home**

**Alice POV**

"Alice?" I could feel the vibrations his voice made through his chest. He was sitting with his back against the headboard of our bed; I was curled into his side with my head on his shoulder. He had one hand absently stroking my hair. Even though we did not need to make these types of movements, we had come to find that it was immensely comforting. `

"I know what you are going to ask, Jazz. It is going to be hard, really, really hard, but I will try to keep my promise to Carlisle." I sighed. I did not know how I was going to do it. For years I had been very vocal with everything that I had seen. But Carlisle had a point. It was possible that my visions had manipulated the future. Being extremely honest with myself, I had manipulated those around me too. Especially Bella, she didn't like shopping but I manipulated her decisions. That needed to change.

"What about the vision you told me about? The one with Bella, is that really going to happen?"

"I don't know Jasper. It all depends on the decisions that are made. Either one could make a decision that will forge a different path with a different ending."

"How solid did that future look?" Jasper asked, brushing his fingers over my shoulder.

"It was pretty clear." I answered. I could hear Carlisle's voice begin to rise, so I jumped off the bed and turned on some music. It is best if their conversation remain as private as possible. I quickly resumed my position next to my gorgeous husband.

"Is it the only possible outcome?" I could hear the slight hint of sadness in his voice. I felt the same, if this vision came true, it would mean big changes – for everyone.

"No, I have seen others and the others are just as clear. It is obvious that there is much that needs to be worked through and decided on before I will know which path has been chosen. Things in the next few months are going to be very confusing and extremely intense at times."

"What do we do?" He sighed, leaning down and brushing a kiss against my forehead.

"Carlisle asked that I keep things to myself unless someone will die. This may be taking liberties with his expectations, but I am going to keep this to myself. As long as Edward stays away, you and I will be the only ones who will know of this possibility."

"Are you sure this is what you want to do Alice?"

"Yes, Jasper, 100%. This is what I have to do, for the family."

"Ok, I trust you. Just let me know what I need to do, and when."

"So…" I said leaning back away from him, my body beginning to thrum with excitement. "When can we go back?"

Jasper chuckled softly. "How much longer can you wait?"

"An hour?" I answered bouncing on the bed next to him.

"I don't think we can be ready to go back to Forks in an hour, Darlin. It will take you 2 days along to pack all your clothes. And then there is the shopping I am sure you will have to do to prepare for the trip and for being back in the house and for seeing Bella again and for…."

"Oh shush! Fine, so we can leave in 2 days?"

"Yes, my dear wife, 2 Days."

I quickly brushed my lips against his and then danced out of his reach before he could pull me to him to deepen the kiss. "Not now Jazz, we have too much to do.

* * *

"Alice, your emotions are driving me insane. Will you calm down please?" I could hear the utter amusement through his words. I knew that I was practically vibrating with excitement but at the same time I was nervous, which for me was a first and I knew that he could feel me flipping between both emotions.

We were currently at the family's old house in Forks; it was Friday afternoon around 2pm. We were waiting for school to let out and Bella to be home. I had debated over how to do this so much that poor Jasper didn't know what to do and ended up leaving me on my own to reach my decision. I knew he supported me and would do anything to help me but he knew this was something I had to reason out on my own. I was grateful that he gave me that time on my own. The emotions I went through while figuring out the best approach would probably have brought him to his knees.

I finally decided to call Bella after school, today, and ask to speak to her. I could have just shown up at school but that would have been somewhat presumptuous, I was not entirely sure she wanted to see me. I also considered just showing up at her house or better yet, being there when she returned from school. However, taking everything Carlisle and I had discussed and all the thinking I had been doing since, I wanted to give Bella the choice to talk to me. I was fully prepared to leave the decision in her hands.

This was uncharted territory for me. Usually I see the person's decision before hand and know how everything is going to turn out. Not this time. Bella did not know we were here, she knew I wanted to talk to her from Carlisle, but she had not decided whether or not she was going to listen to what I had to say. I could see several endings to this conversation. I was trying not to dwell too much on any of them. I wasn't even sure she would agree to talk to me, I had seen one such scenario where she refuses to have anything to do with me for several months.

"Alice, baby, please. Things are going to work out how they were meant to, please stop worrying."

"I can't. I am not even sure she will want to talk to me, how do I calm down? She is my best friend and I want her back in my life. What do I do if she refuses me?" I could not keep the half sob out of my voice at the end.

I needed Bella to know how bad I felt for leaving. She needed to know that I did not just leave because Edward wanted us to but more because I saw how much Jasper was hurting and how getting away for awhile was what he needed.

"I hope she gives me a chance to explain and can find a way to forgive me so we can get back to being friends."

"It may take some time, but I think she will come around." Jasper assured me, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind. I was standing in front of the window looking out toward the lake behind our house.

"From what I could gather from Carlisle, it may be a struggle to get her to trust you again. Are you prepared for that?" He asked.

"Do you mean, am I prepared to sit back and let her do this at her own pace without influencing her? Yeah, I am." I leaned back against his chest wrapping my arms around myself and resting my hands on his arms at my waist.

"At first I was angry with Carlisle for asking me to stop speaking about my visions; you know how I feel about that. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that even though I may see a possible outcome to various situations, things would still work out how they were meant to if I kept quiet about what I saw. I needed to accept that if decisions changed and things didn't work out how I saw them then that was ok too. This was going to be a big adjustment though. Some of the things I have seen I want to come true, others ….well I wouldn't mind if they never did.

"Bella should be home now Alice. It is time." His arms tightened slightly around my middle before releasing me and handing me my cell phone.

As I took the phone from his hand, my fingers grazing along his palm, I was hit with an intense vision. This was by far the worst one yet. I saw Bella answering her phone and becoming extremely angry when she heard my voice, she hurled insults and obscenities at me left and right and eventually hung up without giving me a chance to speak at all.

Jasper had to have known I had a vision, he had to have felt my desolation and despair but thankfully he did not mention it. Knowing that I would need the support, he simply wrapped his arms around my waist again and pulled me back against his chest. He also sent me a small wave of courage as I opened my phone and dialed her number.

My hand shook slightly as I held the phone up to my ear, I was still unsure which vision would play out when she answered the phone, but since my last vision was also the strongest I was sure she would be furious.

The phone had rung three times before she finally picked up and said hello.

Well here goes nothing.

"Hello Bella." I stated simply.

Her response was a loud shocked gasp as she recognized my voice.

**AN - Please let me know what you think. **


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